Saddle-post and pump for bicycles.



No. 668,214. Patented Feb. |9, 190|. J. H. EAST.

SADDL POST AND PUMP FUR BICYCLES.

(Application mea Aug. 2, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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VJ'ULIUS H. RAST, OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

`SADDLE==P0ST AND PUlVlP FOR BICYCLES.;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,214, dated February 19, 190i.

Application iiled August Z, 1899. Serial No. 725,913. tNo model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JULIUs H. RAsT, of the city of New York, State of New York, at present residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of South Carolina, have inventedv certain new and useful Improvements in Saddle-Posts and Pumps for Bicycles, of which the following is a specification.-

The principal object of this invention is to provide a powerful, inexpensive', and durable pump for iniiating the pneumatic tires of bicycles or other vehicles and so arranged that the tubular saddlepost stem also forms the pump-cylinder. This cylinder may be utilized to hold various implements or appli* ances of a repair-kit, if the rider so desires.

The invention also includes a novel clamping device adjustable on the saddle-post stem and adapted to engage the vehicle-frame and providing for vertical adjustment of the saddle and for holding it safely at any desired height. I

The invention will rst be described and then will be particularly defined in claims hereinafter set forth.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which similar numerals indicate corresponding parts in the dierent views.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the saddle-post and pump as adj usted to a fragmentary portion of a bicycle-frame and with the preferred air-discharge tube projecting from the post-head and with a repair-kit in the pump-cylinder. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional View showing the air-tube housed and locked within the saddle-posthead and alsoshowing how a bushing may be used to adapt the same saddle-post and pu mp to another frametube of larger diameter. Fig. 3 illustrates at a much smaller scale the preferred manner of using the pump. Fig. 4 is a vertical section, and Fig. 5 is a top plan view, of the saddle-post clamp-nut. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation and bottom plan View of the clamping-collar which is fastened to the saddlepost stem by the clamp-nut; and Fig. 8 is a detail broken sectional elevation of the means employed for holding up the pump-piston and retaining the repairkit when the saddle-postis normally adj usted to the bicycle-frame.

VFig. 2 of the drawings.

In Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings the numeral 1 indicates the perch-tube of a bicycleframe, into which passes the tubular stem 2 of the saddle-post. this post is adapted to support the saddle 4 in any approved manner. The parts 2 3 communicate internally by a suitable opening 5 in the head. The head is closed at its front end 6, thus forming behind the air-current from opening 5 to the wheel-tire an air reservoir or chamber 7. At its other end the head 3 is adapted to discharge air. l prefer to provide for air-discharge by forming on the headSa suitable screw-thread 8, (preferably an internal tl1read,) to which the opposite threaded ends 9 10 of the coupling 11 of the air-tube 12 are adapted. When thread 9 engages thread S, the tube 12 is adjusted for use outside the head, as shown in Figs. 1 and 1, and when thread 10 engages thread 8 the air-tube is housed and locked invisibly within the seat-post head 3, as shown in This head 3 is sufficiently thick to prevent indentation of it by the saddle-fastening bolt. Hence there will be no obstruction within the head to the en.

trance and exit of the air-tube 12. This tube has any suitable nipple 13 adapted to lthe valve of the wheel-tire 14.

The saddle-post stem 2 serves as the pumpcylinder in which is tted any approved form of piston 15, which is fastened to a rod 16, adapted to move freely through an aperture 17 in a removable plug 18, which is screwed to the lower end of stem 2 to close it. I preferably use an external thread on the plug engaging an internal thread of the stem. The plug 18 is counterbored andinternally threaded to receive the coarse external thread 19 on a locking-nut 20, which has an axial internal th read of finer pitch engaging a corresponding line thread 21 on the piston-rod 16, as more clearlyshownin Fig. Softhe drawings. When the nut20 is unscrewed from plug 18,the rod 16 is freed to permit reciprocation of the piston 15 in the seat-post stem or cylinder 2 for working the pump, the nut 2O meanwhile moving with the rod. The moving rod is guided by the plug-aperture 17, which also supplies the pump-cylinder with air which passes in front of the yielding piston 15 on its back stroke in the usual manner. After use of the pump The tubular head 3 of IOO the piston is pushed fully forward or inward, and the nut 20 is screwed by its thread 19 into the plug 18 until the dierence in the pitch of the two threads 19 21 causes a binding of the piston-rod to hold the rod and piston rmly upto normal position, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and preventing noisy loose jarringr or shaking of them in the bicycleframe, no matter how rough the road may be over which the bicycle travels.

Suitable wrenches 22 23, tape 24, tire-puncture iiuid 25, and duid-applyingneedle 26, or other articles usuallyin a repair-kit, may be placed within the cylinder 2, thus dispensing with the ordinary tool-bag at the will of the rider. The repair kit is accessible by unscrewing the plug 18 from the stem 2. The

kit is of course removed and the plug 18 is replaced when the pump is to be operated.

In using the pump I prefer to lift the stem 2 from the perch-tube 1 and leave the saddle 4 on the head 3 and then invert parts 2 3 4 and couple the tube 12 to the tire 14 while the saddle rests on the ground and then work the pump by reciprocating the piston by means of its rod-handle 27 and as will be understood from Fig. 3 of the drawings. The reserve air-chamber 7 behind aperture 5 promotes steady and effective forcing of the air through tube 12, into the tire. When the tire is fully inflated, the tube 12 is disconnected from it and will then be reversely connected with the seat-post head 3, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and thus will be fully protected within said head from the weather when the post and saddle are readjusted to the bicycle-frame, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Besides providing for use of the saddlepost as a pump-cylinder I also provide animproved means for supporting the post in the bicycle-frame,which permits any desired vertical adjustment of the saddle,while preventingits lateral twisting or turning in the frame. This saddle-supporting means also permits quick and convenient removal and replacement of the post when the pump is to be used and without changing the height adjustment of the saddle. I accomplish these ends by means of a clamp-collar device adapted to be fastened at any point to and around the saddle-post stem and having a tongue-and-groove connection with the frame. The clamp-collar device is clearly distinguished from the ordinary bicycle seat-post or handle-bar fastening in that said clamp-collar when once adjusted ou the seat-post stem to give proper height of the saddle always remains fixed to the stem and is bodily lifted with the stem from the frame. Hence there are no nuts or other parts to loosen before the pump can be removed'from the frame, and no tightening of nuts is necessary when the seat-post is readjusted to the frame for riding purposes after use of the pump. Removal and replacement of the pump relatively to the frame are thus quickly and most conveniently effected with the assurance that the saddle height is unchanged after readjustment "of the stem in the frame. This clamp-collar or device may have various forms to serve'these purposes. I prefer to make it with an inner split sleeve 28,which has a tongue 29, the opposite edges of which t a groove 30 in the frame perch-tube l. The vertical side slit or slot 31 of the sleeve permits it to be tightly clamped to the saddle-post stem 2 by a nut- 32, which has a downwardly-'flaring internal screw-thread 33,engaging an upwardly-tapering external thread 34 on the sleeve. As a further improvement I bevel the face of the tongue 29 at 35 and make the groove 30 with a corresponding inclined wall or a suitable contact-point, so that when the saddle is adjusted tothe frame the tongue and groove will not only prevent lateral turning of the saddle, but will also wedge the saddle-post over firmly against the opposite side wall of the perch-tube, and thereby prevent the post 'and its saddle from working loose or jumping dangerously in the vehicle frame. The tongue 29 may be on the frame and the `groove 30 in the clamping device; but I prefer the construction herein shown and described.

Fig. 2 of the drawings shows how the same saddle-post and pump may be adjusted to a bicycle-frame having a larger perch-tube l by tightly driving a bushing 36 into said tube and providing this bushing,whicl1 loosely fits the post-stem 2, with a groove 30, receiving the tongue 29 of the clamping device. The same saddle-post and saddle,with the pump and all other appliances, thus may be used with bicycles of different style or construction by the same rider or by diierent riders. By permitting very quick and convenient removal of the entire saddle-post and saddle from the bicycle-frame myinvention also promotes safety of the vehicle against thieves. Should a diierent height of saddle be desired, it is only necessary to loosen the nut 32 and then slide the entire clam ping device 28 32 on the saddle-post stem to the desired position and again tighten the nut 32 on the split sleeve 28. Other forms of clam ping devices fitting the post-stein and having tongueand-groove connection with the frame may be vertically adjusted on the stem for regu' lating the height of the saddle within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention- 1. A bicycle or vehicle saddle-post adapted to and removable from the vehicle-frame and having a tubular stem serving as a pumpcylinder and having suitable air-outlet, combined with a piston fitted in said stem and having a rod, and a removable plug tted to the lower end of said stem and having an aperture guiding the reciprocating pistonrod, substantially as described.

2. A bicycle or vehicle saddle-post adapted to and removable from the vehicle-frame and havinga tubular stem servi-ng as a pumpcylinder and having suitable air-outlet, com- IOC bined with a piston fitted in said stem and having a rod provided at its handle end with an external screw-thread, a removable plug fitted to the lower end of the saddle-post stem and having an aperture guiding the reciprocating piston-rod and also having an internal screw-thread, and a nut having an external screw-thread fitting the internal thread of the plug and also having an interior thread of different pitch tting the piston -rod screvvthread, substantially as described.

8. The piston-locking device comprising a plug tting the pump-cylinder and having an aperture for free passage of the pistonrod and also having an internal screw-thread, said piston-rod having an external screwthread, and a nut having an external thread fitting said internal screw-thread of the plug and also having an interior thread of different pitch iitting the piston-rod screw-thread, substantially as described.

4. A bicycle or vehicle saddle-post comprising a tubular stem having an air-inlet and forming a pump-cylinder and a connected tubular head adapted to sustain the saddle and communicating by an opening With the stem, said head having at one end or behind said openinga closed reserve air-chamber and adapted at its other end for discharge of air, substantially as described.

5. A bicycle or Vehicle saddle-post comprising a tubular stem having an air-inlet and forming a pump-cylinder, and a communicating saddle-sustaining head closed'at one end whereat is formed a reserve air-chamber, and having a screw thread at its discharge end, combined with an air-tube having a coupling provided with two screwthreads each adapted to the post-head thread and providing for holding the air-tube either projected for use or housed within the post -head, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a bicycle or vehicle frame, of a saddle-post adjustable by its stem in the frame and constituting a pumpcylinder, and a clamping device adjustable on the post-stem for regulating the height of the saddle and having a tongue-and-groove connection with the frame preventing lateral turning of the saddle; said saddle-post being bodily removable from the frame without loosening the clamp thereby providing for independent use of the pump, and for secure replacement of the saddle for riding purposes, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a bicycle or vehicle frame, of a saddle-post adjustable by its stem in the frame and constituting a pumpcylinder, and a clamping device adjustable on the post-stem for regulating the height of .the saddle and having a tongue-and-groove connection with the frame preventing lateral turning of the saddle, said tongue-and-groove connection also having faces tightly Wedging the post-stemlaterally in the frame; said saddle-post being bodily removable from the frame without loosening the clamp thereby providing for independent use of the pump, and for secure replacement of the saddle for riding purposes, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the verticallyadjustable saddle-post stem constituting a pu mp-cylinder and the notched vehicle-frame, of a split collar having an external tapered screw-thread and also having a tongue adapted to the frame-notch, and a clamp-nut having a tapered internal thread adapted to the collar-thread for tightening the collar on the saddle-post; said saddle-post being bodily removable from the frame without loosening the clamp thereby providing for independent use of the pump, and for secure replacement of the saddle for riding purposes, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the verticallyadjustable saddle-post stem constituting a pu mp-cylinder and the notched vehicle-frame, of a split collar 2S having tongue 29 with tapered face 35 adapted to the frame-notch and also having an external tapered thread 34, and a clamp-nut 32 having an internal tapered thread 33 adapted to the collar-thread 34 for holding the saddle-post to the frame; said saddle-post being bodily removable from the frame Without loosening the clamp thereby providing for independent use ofthe pump, and for secure replacement of the saddle for riding purposes, substantially as described.

lO. The combination, with the saddle-post bodily removable from the frame and an adjustable clamping device on the post-stem regulating the height of the saddle and having a tongue, of a bushing fitted in the vehicle-frame and adapted to the outside of the saddle-post, said bushing having a recess to which the saddle-post clamp-tongue is adapted, substantially as described, whereby a vertically-adjustable saddle-post adapted to tit directly within a smaller frame-tube may, by means of the bushing, be tted also to a larger frame-tu be and whereby also the axial turning of the saddle-post in the frame is prevented, as set forth.

JULIUS H. RAST. Witnesses:

A. BEQUEST, HENRY M. QUALE.

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